Systems management inSAP ® NetWeaver environments

SAP NetWeaver

Service-oriented IT landscapes are designed to give businesses greater flexibility, and to

simplify application integration. The Enterprise Services Architecture (ESA) from SAP provides

a corresponding architecture, implemented with the help of SAP NetWeaver. SAP NetWeaver

is also the technological basis for the development of new solutions and for the integration

of legacy applications. Moreover, it is the framework for the mySAP Business Suite and SAP

xApps. SAP NetWeaver is fully compatible with Internet standards such as HTTP, XML and

Web Services. The platform's inherent openness also permits seamless interaction with

technologies such as Microsoft.NET and IBM WebSphere.

Fresh challenges for systems management

This new SAP technology places new demands on applications, systems and network

management. Because any SAP NetWeaver landscape comprises multiple layers, monitoring

and management tools need to be both flexible and versatile. In addition, they must be

geared to the specific characteristics of an SAP NetWeaver-based infrastructure. This text

describes the issues facing IT decision-makers and administrators.

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Systems management inSAP NetWeaver environments

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NetWeaver in detailSAP NetWeaver 2004 essentially comprises the followingcomponents:· SAP Web Application Server 6.40 (SAP Web AS)· SAP Enterprise Portal (SAP EP) 6.0· SAP Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI) 3.0· SAP Master Data Management (SAP MDM) 2.0· SAP Business Information Warehouse (SAP BW) 3.5· SAP Mobile Infrastructure (SAP MI) 2.5· SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure

The core components are the SAP Web Application Server, theSAP Enterprise Portal, and the SAP Exchange Infrastructure.These are particularly relevant to systems management. Dueto their central importance, the heterogeneous nature of thetechnologies involved (multiple processes, data repositories,etc.) and their distribution throughout the network, they placevery high and very specific demands on systems managementsolutions.

SAP Web Application Server (Web AS)The majority of SAP NetWeaver 2004 application modules arebased on the SAP Web Application Server. Web AS supportsthe development and operation of J2EE and ABAP-basedapplications and Web Services.

The Web AS is divided into three layers. The presentation layerenables communication with clients, such as Web browsers.The business logic level defines business rules and processes.External connections are made via the integration layer. TheWeb AS interacts with external applications via Web Services.

Within an SAP Web AS environment, both conventional RFCand tRFC (transactional Remote Function Calls) and, via theJ2EE component, Web Services enable links between theindividual SAP NetWeaver components. Any serious disruptionof these links can bring the entire application system to astandstill. It is therefore vital to monitor this communicationsinterface and the networks it supports, allowing administratorsto respond rapidly to performance bottlenecks or system failures.

A further highly critical component is the inbound and outboundqueue (transaction SMQ1, SMQ2), which regulates data transfer.Here as well, a systems management solution is essential ifproblems are to be recognized before they cause downtime.

Where all supported technologies and protocols are in use,there is a far greater need for monitoring than is the case, forexample, with a standard R/3 system.

Web AS in conjunction with J2EEThe Java 2 platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) is the basis forJava support via the Web AS. For example, J2EE is an efficientway of implementing Web frontends and mobile clients. It alsoallows the rapid and simple integration of clients via standardssuch as Web Services.

Within any J2EE environment, a central role is played by theadapter engine. The engine generates the XML files requiredfor data transfer and exchange. As all communications withinJ2EE applications are based on these files, close monitoring ofthe adapter engine and of the underlying processes and controlfiles is exceptionally important.

SAP Enterprise PortalThe SAP Enterprise Portal is designed to provide standardized,role-based access to all relevant information and functionsthroughout the enterprise. It is the user's central point ofentry into the SAP system or other applications. One of its keyadvantages is its ability to combine R/3 and mySAP applications.

As is usual with portals, the SAP Enterprise Portal is based ona conventional Web server. This can be provided by third-partyvendors, such as Microsoft or Apache, and needs to be includedin any systems management concept. Prior to Web AS 3.0, Webconnectivity was achieved via SAP Internet Transaction Server(SAP ITS), which must be monitored separately. With Web AS3.0, SAP ITS is integrated, and therefore should be part of themonitoring concept for the Web AS.

In order to reference data from diverse sources, such asapplications or databases, the SAP Enterprise Portal featuresa unification server, which includes a collaboration component.This supports real-time collaboration amongst teams andcommunities via virtual rooms and tools. However, this is notsufficient for seamless process integration, which calls for theimplementation of the SAP Exchange Infrastructure.

TREX – central indexing and search engineThe TREX (Text Retrieval and Information Extraction) tool issupplied by SAP with a variety of applications, including theKnowledge Warehouse and the SAP Enterprise Portal. TREXfacilitates the rapid identification and retrieval of informationheld in large data repositories. In conjunction with the portalas the information hub and the document management system,the engine is highly important, and its availability and load needto be closely watched.

Processes at operating system levelBecause the portal plays a central role within the SAP NetWeaverapplication landscape, a variety of portal processes are alsoexecuted at operating system level. These vary in type accordingto the operating system deployed. An effective systemsmanagement solution is needed to identify the correspondingprocesses, and to monitor them on the basis of appropriatethresholds. Moreover, the SAP Enterprise Portal requiresconsiderable system resources, necessitating the continuousmeasurement of CPU and memory usage. The situation isfurther complicated when multiple portal instances run on asingle machine. This often the case, for example, when it isnecessary to provide additional protection against outages, orto ensure load distribution to guarantee consistent responsetimes during peak loads.

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It is therefore common for several instances of SAP EnterprisePortal to be operated on a single server. For the administrator,it is difficult to identify which processes are associated witheach portal. Here, as well, a specialized monitoring solution isrequired to accurately track portal instance availability.

In addition, it is advisable to employ dedicated monitoringfunction for the portal Website, since it is possible for theWebsite to be down even when the portal remains up.

SAP Exchange InfrastructureThe SAP Exchange Infrastructure (XI) is the central data hubwithin the SAP application landscape. It links SAP applicationsto one another, and also allows the integration of externalapplications. However, the key focus of the SAP ExchangeInfrastructure is the integration of entire process chains. BusinessProcess Management capabilities ensure seamlesscommunication between application modules.

The SAP Exchange Infrastructure is an autonomous Java-basedapplication that makes use of the SAP J2EE server. Via theintegration broker, it is possible to incorporate heterogeneouscomponents form a wide variety of vendors. To this end, SAPXI 3.0 includes an adapter framework and a large selection ofpredefined adapters. The solution exchanges data with filesystems, message queuing systems, legacy software anddatabase systems. It provides the corresponding queuing,routing and mapping services, and enhanced process controlfor functions such as synchronization, separation andcombination of messages. The adapter engine and the adaptersthemselves are critical system components that requirecontinuous near-real-time monitoring.

SAP Master Data ManagementSAP Master Data Management (MDM) consolidates masterdata throughout the enterprise.

This is a precondition for end-to-end business processes thattranscend departmental and functional barriers. To this end,SAP MDM identifies identical or highly similar data records.This information is made available to business processes viathe Master Data Management component. SAP MDM employsthe SAP Exchange Infrastructure in order to gain access to thevarious source systems.

Business Intelligence with SAPSAP Business Intelligence captures, combines and organizesdata from a variety of internal and external sources, and makesit available to decision-making processes.

An SAP Business Information Warehouse (SAP BW) is designedlike a conventional R/3 system. However, a number of specialcharacteristics need to be considered. For example, connectionsto source systems, for example operated by suppliers, call forhigh performance and continuous availability. Extraction andloading processes must be stable and rapid. Data warehousesare associated with extremely large volumes of data, and thisrequires a database cost-based optimizer to guarantee therequired level of performance.

Log viewer: in-depth analysis of log filesSAP provides log files, enabling administrators to analyze SAPNetWeaver components system states in detail. These files canbe read with the help of the log viewer. State-of-the-art monitoringsolutions streamline this process by automatically analyzinglog files and importing them into the system monitoring tool.

theGuard! provides powerful, end-to-end monitoringof SAP NetWeaverAs SAP Global Alliance Support Partner, SAP Global TechnologyPartner und SAP Software Partner, REALTECH has in-depthunderstanding of SAP technology, and extensive hands-onexperience of SAP products. Moreover, to extend its skills andinsight, REALTECH cooperates closely with SAP, whoseheadquarters are a stone's throw from REALTECH's own offices.As a result, the company enjoys unrivalled expertise in SAPNetWeaver and other SAP solutions. This expertise has beenincorporated into theGuard! System Management Suite. Thishas enabled the creation of a solution that combines applications,systems and network management tasks – the essential basisfor the efficient operation of complex landscapes based on SAPNetWeaver. theGuard! is the SAP specialist in systemsmanagement!

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